The Shadow Where True Meaning Lies
by Sparrow Shadow
Summary: Kana is an assassin. When she is hired to kill Clow reed, he decides to turn her into a dog to teach her a lesson. Three hundred years later, she meets Sakura, the first person to care for her since she was twelve.
1. The Huntress

The Shadow Where True Meaning Lies

By Sparrow Shadow

I don't own Cardcaptor Sakura

Chapter One: The Huntress

Alone was how she liked it, without Vickory breathing down her neck, telling her what to do. The night air blew across her face, raising the fox red hairs off the back of her neck, bringing with it the smells of cherry blossom, honeysuckle, and jasmine. She breathed it in, barely paying attention to the aromas surrounding her. Her mind was focusing on one thing; her mark. She shifted uncomfortably getting tired of sitting on her knees as she watched the house, a board expression on her face.

She had been hired to get rid of the sorcerer, Clow Reed. Her record was perfect. After all, she was one of the best assassins in the business.

Kana heard a noise behind her and turned to see a large tiger-like creature advancing on her. It growled at her as a human materialized out of the darkness behind it. The creature looked to him and he placed a hand on his head. "Down Cerberus," he commanded softly, and the animal obeyed. "Your name was Kana, wasn't it?" She looked at him apprehensively and nodded. He had gotten the drop on her. That had never happened before.

Clow Reed was smiling at her as if he was seeing a friend for the first time in ages. Kana was watching him, and his beast, waiting for his next move. Clow Reed reached out to her and she leaped away, finally recovering from the shock of seeing him there. She drew her blade out of her boot and another out of her belt, facing him with fight filling her expression. He only grinned, as did his beast. "Cerberus, would you kindly show our guest inside?" The animal nodded and pressed his nose into the small of Kana's back, causing her to yelp with surprise and follow without second thought.

Still gripping her blades, she followed Cerberus inside with Clow Reed following along behind her. She didn't trust him for a moment. She was only waiting for the right moment to strike. He offered her a seat and she refused to sit. He was playing her. She had no tolerance for foolish mind games. She was growing impatient, having never acquired a talent for staying in one place, as Vickory had, and she wanted this to end. She readied her weapon and whipped around to face the sorcerer. She swung her blade, aiming at his face, to distract him and he surprised her when he moved effortlessly to the side, dodging her barely in time to avoid getting his cheek sliced open. Kana landed on the other side of him, her knee absorbing the shock of the fall.

She stood, irritated, to face him again, rubbing her sore knee softly. The injury stung, but it wasn't debilitating. She had trained herself to fight beyond pain. Clow Reed made a move towards her and she drew her blade once more. He threw his hands up in surrender, his eyes imploring her to drop her weapon, as he reached a gentle hand out to her, placing his hand on her knee. "I'm mean you no harm, Kana, and neither does Cerberus, do you?" he said the last part sternly and the animal grudgingly nodded. "Let me see your knee."

"Like hell!" Kana snapped. She had always been severely out spoken for her time. Most young ladies of her age tended to be silent in manner, a mere prize for their husbands to parade. Kana detested such girls. True, had her situation been different, she would have been married around age thirteen to a man she hardly knew and would, most likely, have children by now. She silently thanked cruel fate for her fortune.

"Please, Kana, do not be stubborn."

"And who said you could call me by my first name?"

"If you would prefer it, I will call you by your last name. Would you like to tell me what it is?" Kana thought for a few moments.

"Kana is fine." A good assassin knew better then to reveal her full name to a mark. She would just have to put up with his familiarity for a while, before she killed him. While she was lost in thought, his hand had descended on her knee. She gasped in shock and tried to pull away, throwing her off balance. This time, her hand took the fall, only stinging for a moment, seeing as it was much less sensitive then her knee. She leaped to her feet, wielding her blade before she realized that her knee had ceased it's throbbing. She looked to Clow Reed, her confused countenance meeting his benevolent eyes. He was smirking at her, and she wanted to slice that smirk right off of his face.

"Healing is one of the most basic of powers. Your knee was badly sprained. Had you continued like that, you would have messed your knee up beyond repair." Kana held her wrist behind her back, in a soldier's ready, as she stammered out a hesitant thank you. She cursed herself for being so weak that she needed a sorcerer's aid, and now, she was hesitating to kill him because he had helped her. She had to get this over with. She raised her blade and swung it again, and Clow Reed dodged. "Now now, that's rude." His fingers flexed and she gasped, recognizing what he was doing. He was summoning his magic in retaliation to her strike. Her brain seemed to be working in slow motion as she saw the white magic, bubbling between his fingers. He raised his hand and she felt as if she had lead in her shoes and her brain had been disconnected from her spinal cord. She felt a searing hot burst of energy strike her in the back and she fell unconscious.

* * *

Senses and memories came slowly to Kana when she awoke. At first, the only thing she was aware of was the blinding pain in her back, neck, shoulders, and legs. She was lying down on her stomach, and, as she tried to move, she became aware of another sensation. She was restrained, around her neck, by a thick leather collar and a heavy chain. She growled in frustration when she found she couldn't stand all the way. She gave an involuntary shiver.

She breathed in, through her nose, and inhaled all the scents around her. She could smell smoke, dust and a cool fluid-like scent…water? It never occurred to her that you should be able to smell water, no human could. She breathed in again and she caught a whiff of the dirt on the floor and the warm, sweet scent of candle wax. She flexed her stiff shoulders and sat down as her tail flicked around her body.

Tail!…

It was true. She had a furry red and white tail flicking over the dirty floor. She looked down at her hands and realized that they were smaller and covered with red and white fur. She rolled over groggily and saw, in a mirror on the wall, that her body had become smaller, sinewy, and was covered with mostly red fur with splashes of white across her chest, front legs, tail, and face. Her expressive cat green eyes were rimmed by a dusting of white hairs.

That damn sorcerer had turned her into a dog!

She heard a noise behind her and she turned her head, releasing the only sound she could manage, a low, hateful growl. "The dog is among God's noblest creatures," Clow Reed said as he entered the room, shutting the door behind Cerberus and himself. Cerberus was growling under his breath, as if he was protecting Clow Reed. "I'm going to release you now. Promise me that you won't run away?" Kana gave another hateful growl. The growl was as close to 'fuck no' as she could get out at the moment. He chuckled and reached for her, placing a hand on the back of her neck. Kana turned around and ravaged his right hand, leaping away, jerking her neck on the chain. She growled and turned, her teeth set on ravaging the chain instead. She gnashed her teeth into it until her mouth hurt and her gums bled. Clow Reed rested his completely healed hand to clasp her mouth closed as his other hand unlatched the chain.

Kana looked at him with confusion brimming in her cat green eyes. "I'm releasing you. Please don't eat me." Kana stayed where she was. She knew there had to be a catch. She growled, telling him to get on with it. "I thought you'd see it my way." He chuckled and continued on with his monologue. "The dog is among God's noblest creatures. You, Kana, have no respect for human life. You have become cold, hardened, not at all the little angel I knew as a child-" she gave a yelp, begging him to explain himself. "All in good time, Kana, all in good time. I have turned you into a dog, so now, you have to rely on humans to survive. One day, Kana my dear, you will meet someone. You will refuse to let yourself grow close, at first, but soon you will be unable to resist the emotions that you were never allowed to experience. The one who will brake the spell will be the one you least expect. You will feel drawn to her for reasons beyond your comprehension. You will not be able to go on with your life until you find her, which means you will never age or die." This guy is such an idiot, she thought to herself. Clow Reed had turned away from her, facing the wall. "When you put an innocent life above your own, that's when you will be human again." He smiled at her, reaching his hand out to her and, without conscious thought, Kana allowed him to stroke her head as the weight of his curse hit her in her stomach. She whimpered. "In the mean time, you are welcomed to stay here." Cerberus made a nondescript sound of disapproval in the back of his throat. Clow Reed shot him a glare.

He fingered an object on a table near his spell book. Kana gave it a curious sniff and realized that it was a book with the symbol of the sun on the cover. The book smelled heavily of magic. "My latest…project," he told her simply. "So, what do you say, Kana?" Kana gave a nod. What choice did she have? She had nowhere else to go. With a growl in Cerberus' general direction, she found a comfortable spot in the corner and settled there, closing her eyes, drifting into an uneasy sleep.


	2. Two Strange Girls

A/N: Most of my character's names have a meaning that goes with their personality or situations they've been in. The name Kana means powerful and the name Suki means beloved. 

Chapter Two: Two Strange Girls

Kana was getting frustrated. She slunk down the ally, her nose twitching, taking in the scents around her, and her ears shifted uneasily, listening for approaching humans.

Yep, three centuries later and she was still stuck as a damn dog. She had long since learned that humans were dangerous creatures, and they were best avoided. It was worth being stuck as a animal to not have to deal with them.

She had changed little over the years. Her red a white hair had grown longer, scraggily, and dirty, her teeth were feral and sharp, and they were they only part of her body humans ever met. Her tail, as it always had, curled dominantly over her back and she carried her head high and proud. Her breed, she had been told by a human, was something called a "Siberian Husky". She could make house pets cringe, just by showing her teeth.

She walked down the street, sniffing in all directions, looking for an opportunity to steal some food. She saw two girls, around ten years old, giggling as they shared a bowl of noodles at a vendor across the street. Kana licked her lips and gave a very maniacal, roguish smile. Kana checked the street for cars before she bolted across, coming up close behind the two girls. She took a deep sniff and an unexpected, and disgustingly familiar aroma assaulted her nostrils.

_Magic! _

The smaller girl with the honey-colored hair reeked of magic. Clow Reed's magic, to be more specific. She growled cruelly as she recognized his scent. The girls stood from the bench they had been sitting on and began to walk down the busy street. Kana followed, mostly from scent and not sight, seeing as other humans continued to get in hr way. The dark-haired girl turned around and saw Kana, who responded with a growl. "Sakura, we've got a stalker. Look." The other girl, Sakura, turned around and smiled when she saw her. Kana growled again.

"Hey there. What do you want, little guy?" Kana's growl rose in volume and ferocity. Sakura reached into her bowl of noodles and tossed one in Kana's direction. Kana remembered her original task of finding food, and gave the girls a warning growl as she gently took the food in her teeth and snapped it down her throat. She felt a hand on her back and wrenched away with a vicious growl. Sakura cooed gently and came to her a little slower, ignoring her friend's warning. Kana did everything she could to warn the girl away. She couldn't stand magic, or it's wielders, and she wanted nothing to do with this girl.

"Sakura, leave her alone," her friend pleaded desperately.

"Tomoyo, shut-up," Sakura ordered. The other girl obeyed, but chewed on her fingernails out of nerves, worried for her friend. Kana backed up until she felt her back legs knock against a wall. She looked around and realized she was trapped in a corner, backed against two walls, the girl, and the road beside her. She gave another growl, hoping to scare the girl away, but to no avail. Even though she was human, she was still just a kid, and Kana didn't want to hurt her.

As Sakura's hand descended on her head she did the only thing she could to escape, she leaped to the side and into the road. There was a screech of tires and she felt a heavy object slam into her body. She gave an involuntary yelp as she hit the ground. She heard a yell and felt small hands on her trembling shoulders.

"Tomoyo, go get help!" Kana heard Sakura say. She couldn't see from the blood in her eyes, but she felt gentle hands on her side and she whimpered, more from surprise then pain. She could fight through the pain. She gritted her teeth as two humans lifted her out of the road and placed her on the sidewalk. She felt hands gently caress her side and she snapped, fearful of the strange male human. She saw Sakura again, placing her hand on her head. "Easy, girl."

"Is this your dog, young lady?" one of the humans asked.

"Yes sir, she is. Her name is…Suki," she said. The human nodded and Kana growled away another hand. "Suki, it's alright girl. Easy. Good girl." She felt Sakura's gentle hand caress her forehead as the first male human pressed a cloth to her bleeding leg. She whimpered, knowing that to attack him would mean hurting the child holding her first. She had learned long ago that human males were not to be trusted, but human children were harmless, innocent no matter what their age. She forced herself to endure the human males.

It seemed like forever before they released her, and she stood stiffly. She licked her wounds for a moment as the curious crowd that had gathered dissipated, leaving her alone with Sakura and Tomoyo, who was looking at her nervously. "Oniichan's going to kill me when I bring her home. Not to mention my father." Tomoyo shrugged.

"They can't turn her away. She's injured." Kana watched them tensely. Sakura reached a tentative hand out to her and Kana allowed the contact. "What did you call her?"

"Suki. The name just came to me. It just suits her, doesn't it?" Tomoyo shrugged again. "Come on Suki. Let's go home." Sakura said, patting her thigh. Kana tilted her head as she contemplated. Her body felt sore all over and her leg really hurt. She knew she was in no condition to survive on her own. The girl would probably lead her to a warm house with food that she didn't have to scavenge for, but, on the other hand, she had mentioned a father and an oniichan, human males. But Sakura's gentle hand on her head drowned her doubts as she used said hand to beckon her forward. She felt like, maybe, she could trust the girl. She took a steadying breath as she limped forward to follow the two girls home.


	3. Human Males and Vets

Chapter Three: Human Males and Vets 

Kana followed the two girls down the driveway towards a pretty house with flowers dotting the yard. Kana spared a look around before Sakura beckoned her forward. She opened the door and called into the house, "Oniichan?" before she and Tomoyo removed her shoes. Kana sat on the front porch, hesitating to go in. "Come on, Suki," she chirped. Tomoyo gently patted her leg encouraging, giggling sweetly.

"Bless her heart, she's shy," Tomoyo laughed. Kana wagged her tail hesitantly, unused to the action. The girls darted up the stairs and Kana followed, slowly on her injured leg, unsure of what else to do. She followed their scent into a small bedroom down the hallway where both girls had flopped on the bed, giggling moronically. Kana tilted her head as she followed them inside.

"Here girl, come up here," Sakura invited. Kana growled. That's where she drew the line. She settled on a soft spot on the floor and begun to lick her wounds once more. Sakura watched with a half smile on her face.

"What are you going to do?" Tomoyo asked.

"Can you keep her?"

"Are you kidding? My mother won't even let me keep a goldfish, much less a large dog that bites." Sakura had climbed off the bed and stooped next to her on the floor. She reached out her hand to pet Kana, but she growled her away. She was to cagey indoors to tolerate being touched. The door opened and a male voice called upstairs for Sakura.

"Toya!" Sakura gasped. "Coming Oniichan!" she called out the door. "Tomoyo, can you keep her up here for a while? I'll be back" She shut the door behind her, though the action wasn't necessary. She didn't have to instruct Tomoyo to keep Kana upstairs. The male voice below was enough to keep her at bay. She crawled under Sakura's bed to avoid being seen by Toya. Tomoyo clicked her tongue.

"I know, he scares me too," she sympathized.

"Suki, here girl!" she heard Sakura call from the bottom of the stairs. Kana didn't respond.

"Incase you're wondering, that's you," Tomoyo said sarcastically. Kana growled. Sakura bobbed up the stairs with a tall, dark-haired boy behind her. Kana growled at him. Sakura snapped her fingers and called her name. Kana reacted with a snarl and retreated further under the bed, far away from Toya.

"Are you kidding, Squirt? That dog's a hospital visit waiting to happen."

"She's injured. She was hit by a car today." Toya rolled his eyes and sat down on Sakura's bed.

"You know dad's not going to let you keep this dog, don't you?"

"Can't you talk to him?"

"I can try, I've been telling him we need a dog around here for years, but I doubt he'll listen." Tomoyo nodded. "Besides, don't you want a puppy?"

"No, I don't want a puppy. Suki needs me." The door opened downstairs and Sakura bit her lip. "We'll stall him. Don't let her go downstairs," she commanded Tomoyo as she grabbed Toya's hand and bolted down the stairs.

"Come on, old girl. Get out from under there," Tomoyo cooed as Kana slid out from under the bed, sniffing the air for any trace of the human males. She could smell them both downstairs along with Sakura. She whimpered softly and felt Tomoyo's comforting hand stroking her ears. "You don't like Toya, do you? It's ok, his bark is worse then his bite." Kana heard voices ascending the stairs and she bolted under the bed again. Sakura's father opened the door and Kana growled from under the bed. Mr. Kinomoto eyed his daughter suspiciously.

"She's hiding," Sakura supplied. "Suki, get out from under there." Kana growled in response.

"I don't think she likes men very much," Tomoyo said. "Remember, Sakura, how she kept snapping those guys away from her when she was hit by the car?" Sakura nodded.

"She's probably been abused," her father replied. He ducked down to look under the bed and Kana shrunk back even further, growling at the interloper. "Come on out, Sweetheart. Come on." Kana reluctantly slid out from under the bed, crouching down and growling at the presence of the males. Fujitaka Kinomoto reached out his hand to clasp Kana's muzzle gently. He pulled up her gums to look at her teeth. "She's pretty young, only about two and a half years old in human years, which would make her about eighteen in dog years. Yeah, you're a good little girl, aren't you?" he cooed softly. She growled ever so slightly, a gentle warning. Sakura's father released her from his grip on her and she pawed her muzzle, trying to get rid of the feeling of his hands on her fur. "Sakura, I don't know about this dog. I'm sure she'll bite." He sighed and looked at Sakura's pleading eyes. "I guess we can take her to the vet and see what they say." Sakura gasped and through her arms around her father's neck.

Kana, however, bolted back under the bed.

* * *

Kana crouched in the back seat of the car, shivering, as they pulled into the vet's office. Using a rope she had found in the garage, Sakura tugged Kana out of the car and into the building. Kana whimpered softly, smelling more humans inside then she cared to come in contact with. Sakura's father signed them in at the front desk as Sakura and Tomoyo tried to calm the dog down. Toya was looking around at the pictures on the wall. Tomoyo looked around, to make sure no one was listening, before turning to Sakura, whispering in her ear. "I bet she would make a good cardcaptor, don't you think?"

"Who, Suki?"

"Yeah. I bet's she's got a good nose. She could maybe be like a sidekick, or something."

"I thought you were my sidekick, Tomoyo," Sakura responded with a giggle. Tomoyo giggled as well and Kana decided that she didn't like human females much more then human males.

"Just the same, we should talk to Kero-chan. Maybe she could be your mascot, or something."

"I'm not a football player, Tomoyo, I don't need a mascot." Tomoyo giggled.

Giggling should be illegal, Kana reasoned. Suddenly, what they were saying reached her ears. Cardcaptor! She remembered, then, why she had started following Sakura and Tomoyo in the first place, because Sakura reeked so heavily of Clow Reed's Magic. She took another hard sniff to confirm her suspicions. She remembered those infernal Clow Cards that Clow Reed created when she was with him. She remembered how much trouble he said they could cause when they were released. _And now the dumb kid's released them_, she thought vehemently. She growled. _Stupid_ _human!_

She was licking her sore leg again and Sakura petted her head gently. "Does it hurt, Suki?" she cooed lovingly. Kana gave her a "no duh" growl. Sakura's father sat down next to her and began filling out forms. Kana scanned the room, looking at the other pets and their humans. A small dog sat in a little girl's lap, a black kitten sat in a box being stroked by an adult female, and an old man stroked his German shepherd's ears. The shepherd barked softly at her and Kana growled in response. He tilted his head and touched his nose to hers. Kana was surprised by the contact, so surprised that she whimpered. She felt a gentle tug at her neck as Sakura stood, walking towards the back door.

"So, this is Suki?" said a female human as they entered a small room. The doctor stooped down and looked in her eyes, ears, and mouth. "Her teeth look good," she said. She ran a hand down her back, feeling the mussels and bones. "She's got a broken rib or two. We can do an x-rays to see for sure." She ran the same hand down her back legs. "Her back hip feels dislocated too." Kana yelped as her hand touched the gash on her leg. "She doesn't bite, does she?"

"Maybe," Sakura said.

"Come on, Sweetie, lay down for me," she said as she eased the dog down. Kana nipped her hand. "She'll need stitches in her leg too. Are you planning to keep her?" Sakura, Toya, and Tomoyo looked at Mr. Kinomoto with pleading smiles. He sighed.

"I guess." Kana rolled her eyes. The doctor smiled.

"She'll probably make a good pet. I'm going to sedate her so I can stitch up her back leg and fix up her back hip and ribs." Sakura stroked her head gently and Kana shook her off.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four: Kero

Kana was finally back at Sakura's house after her leg had been stitched up. She was sore and Sakura had laid a blanket on the floor in her room and Kana was to tired to object to the human's assumption that she would want to sleep in her room. As soon as she entered the room, she was, once again, assaulted by the overwhelming smell of Magic. She followed her nose to pin point the source, a stuffed animal. She picked up the toy in her mouth, pressing her teeth in it's wing. "LET ME GO, YOU OVERGROWN HAIRBALL!" it raged, causing Kana to yelp and drop it roughly to the floor. He hit the ground with a thump and rubbed his back, glaring at Kana, who growled and sniffed him all over.

"Kero, this is Suki," Sakura said with flourish. Kero gave Kana a searching look and she recognized his scent. Cerberus, Clow Reed's pet. She gave a laugh-like bark at his weakened form. He had always lorded over her the fact that her was bigger then she was. Now, he looked like a beanie baby. Kero had resumed his position, perched on Sakura's bed, glaring at Kana. "What's with the evil eye?" Sakura asked.

"Mmmmm, I'm not sure about that dog, Sakura. I can sense a strange aura around her. It feels almost…magical. So…familiar…" Kero trailed off, contemplating. Sakura shrugged. The door opened and Toya entered, looking briefly at Kero, who had gone limp.

"What do you want?" Sakura snapped.

"Dad told me to tell you it was dinner time. He said to feed your mutt." He nodded in Kana's general direction, or where Kana had been. When Toya had entered the room, she had retreated under the bed once more.

Kana hesitantly padded down the stairs behind Sakura. Sakura pulled a bowl out of the cabinet and filled it ham before placing it on the ground for her. Kana shoved her nose in the bowl before it even reached the ground, realizing that she hadn't eaten all day. Sakura's father laughed. "We'll have to get her some food tomorrow and maybe a bowl, a collar and leash, a brush, some dog shampoo, she'll need tags, and…"

"Dad, chill," Sakura said. Kana barked her agreement. Besides, she didn't intend to be here that long.

Kana opted to sleep on the back porch instead of in Sakura's room or in the living room. Sakura laid a blanket out on the porch for her and Kana dragged it under the porch because she smelled rain in the air. Just as she thought, as soon as she had ducked under the porch, it begun to sprinkle. Kana yawned and curled up on her blanket and listened to the ever-quickening pelting of rain around her and the peals of thunder that shook the yard. She felt comforted as she drifted off to sleep.

She woke as the sun drifted up over the fence. She yawned and stretched as she slid out from under the porch and lapped some water from a nearby puddle. The door opened and Sakura whistled for her. Kana gave her a defiant growl and Sakura rolled her eyes. "Will you come in here you stubborn mutt?" She snapped. Kana padded inside behind her and Sakura sat a plate of eggs and bacon down on the floor. Toya clicked his tongue as he watched her.

"Sakura, that stuff isn't good for her."

"I know, but it's better then not feeding her at all." Sakura's father patted her on the head and Kana glared but otherwise didn't react. She found that she was gradually getting used to the human males that belonged to Sakura. Toya stood and headed towards the door, beckoning Sakura to come to the door.

"We should be going, Squirt. We're going to be late." Sakura nodded and bolted to the door. Kana followed, almost out of habit.

"No Suki. Stay here, girl. I'll be back at three." She shut the door on her. Kana tilted her head with a whimper. Mr. Kinomoto placed a hand on her head and stroked her ears. Kana allowed the contact.

"I'll see you later, Suki. Behave." He opened the back door and Kana went outside, lying down on the porch, enjoying the early morning cool. She flicked her tail around her body to fan herself as she panted and studied a butterfly as it darted around the yard. These people are crazy, she thought to herself. They took her in, an assassin-turned-canine, and they treated her like one of the family. She already felt herself growing close to Sakura. The child seemed to like her no matter how much she growled at her. She had never had anyone do that for her before.

This is dangerous, she thought. I shouldn't let them get close to me. I am a rouge, a wild beast of the night. After all I have done, I don't deserve to have a family. It's time for me to leave. I've stayed to long. I need to leave before I start to feel comfortable. Before I come to like it here.

She suddenly realized that it was to late. She had already become attached to Sakura, that became apparent when she realized that she didn't want her to leave this morning. With a growl at the butterfly, she stood and cantered over to the gate, chewing at the latch. When she had it opened, she bolted out into the front yard without even looking back. 


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five: More Dismay in Empty Eyes

Evanescence Exodus

My black backpack's stuffed with broken dreams

20 bucks should get me through the week

Never said a word of discontentment

Fought it a thousand times but now

I'm leaving home

Kana loped down the street, carefully avoiding cars, as she tried to put as much distance between herself and the Kinomoto house as possible. She was getting tired so she laid down in an alley, taking refuge in a large cardboard box. There was a clap of thunder and it began to rain again. Kana laid her head down on her front paws and sighed. She found herself reliving things that she had long since put out of her mind, her painful memories that Vickory had told her to put out of her mind. Her pain made her weak, he had told her.

Here in the shadows

I'm safe

I'm free

I've nowhere else to go but

I cannot stay where I don't belong

Twelve year old Kana was smiling, an action she hadn't preformed in centuries. This was when life was perfect, her mother held her hand, her father kissed her cheek. Both told her they loved her and she giggled. "So, what did you think of the play, Sweetheart?" Her father asked.

"I loved it, daddy," she chirped. Her mother smiled.

"Where to now?" her mother asked.

"Home, I guess. I'm tired and we've got church in the morning." They turned down an alley, the shortest way home. Kana had walked down this alleyway a hundred times and had never had to worry. There had never been a reason to feel afraid. Suddenly, she felt a presence behind her as a hand lock on her hair, jerking her away from her parents. He placed the barrel of a gun to her fox red hair.

"Give me your purse!" He ordered, giving Kana a hard jerk. Her mother obliged, as well as her father, handing him his wallet. The man smiled wickedly and threw Kana into the wall behind him. As she hit the ground, she heard two gun shots and looked up, seeing her parents lying on the ground, not moving. She felt the wet tears stinging the back of her eyelids and the man turned to her. "Better not cry, little girl. Wouldn't want to mess up that pretty face." He raised the gun and Kana closed her eyes as he fired.

Two months pass by and it's getting cold

I know I'm not lost

I am just alone

But I won't cry

I won't give up

I can't go back now

Waking up is knowing who you really are

Kana jerked herself awake and she realized with relief that it had only been a nightmare. The sky was growing steadily darker. She was whimpering as she used her nose to move the hair on her shoulder, revealing a small scar, a souvenir of that horrible night. She barely survived that night. When she awoke in the hospital, she had changed completely. A nice church family had come to get her but she disappeared out the window, revenge in mind. She had trained hard over the next several weeks, but she had never intended to kill her parent's murderer. She had gone to his house and, before she knew it, his blood was on her hands. Like a wolf who tastes blood, she became addicted. She become a huntress, a killer, an assassin.

Here in the shadows

I'm safe

I'm free

I've nowhere else to go but

I cannot stay where I don't belong

Here in the shadows

I'm safe

I'm free

I've nowhere else to go but

I cannot stay here

Show me the shadow where true meaning lies

So much more dismay in empty eyes

Kana growled, leaping up from her bed. She paced irritably, unable to sit still. She thought about Sakura. She thought about how she had been so kind to her, even when she growled her away. Sakura didn't know that Kana had once been human, or the things she had done as a human, the lives she had taken, the murderous games she had played, the sadistic way she had lived. But things changed. People changed. Maybe, she could change.

Suddenly, something clicked in the corner of her senses. She sniffed the air and could sense the presence of a Clow Card. She smiled wickedly and stood, sniffing again. She could smell which one it was, Fight. She remembered the little bitch. She bolted down the street, eager for a fight. She was frustrated, and she felt like taking out her pent up energy on something that would fight back.

As she neared the source of the scent, she caught another scent, Sakura and her friends. She quickened her pace, her heart pounding. As she reached the street where she saw Sakura, Tomoyo, and two other kids she didn't know fighting off the Fight card. Sakura turned around and saw her. "Su-Suki?" she asked. Kana wagged her tail and turned to Fight, who was bearing down on the strange girl. Kana lunged, taking Fight's arm between her teeth.

"Seal it, Sakura!" She barked, but then, she realized that she hadn't barked. She had talked. Sakura was staring. "Do it, now!" Sakura was roused from whatever it was that gripped her as she raised her wand.

\"Return to the form you were meant to be! Fight!" The card was subdued, and Sakura picked up the card with a smile. The boy was eyeing Kana with a weird look on his face.

"Sakura, your dog can talk."

"I knew she looked familiar," Kero said, hovering close to her face. She growled at him, her eyes telling him not to tell the kids.

"Where, Kero?" the strange girl asked.

"She used to be Clow Reed's pet. He gave her magical powers. She probably didn't even know she could talk," he lied hesitantly. At least he respected her wish not to revile her dark past to her only friends.

Friends, she realized with astonishment.

"Suki, this is Li and Mei Lin," Tomoyo said. Kana smiled.

"And I am Kana," she said, unaccustomed to talking for sometime. Sakura reached out her hand and Kana placed her paw in it.

"Nice to meet you."

"What are you doing out here anyway?" Tomoyo asked.

"I came to find you guys," Kana lied effortlessly.

"You weren't home when I got home," Sakura said.

"I ducked out of the rain and fell asleep," Kana lied again. Sakura smiled and then picked up a pencil out of her pocket and wrote her name on the card.

"I'm tired. Let's go home," she said. Li nodded in agreement as they all started to walk off. Kana lagged behind, as did Kero.

"You were going to run away, weren't you Kana?" Kana shrugged. "Why?"

"I don't belong here, Kero. I don't know how to be in a family. I haven't had one since I was twelve." Kero looked over at where Sakura and Tomoyo were giggling at a shared joke between them and Li and Mei Lin were talking about something that had happened at school.

"All you need to know, Kana, is that that little girl over there loves you. To her, you aren't an assassin, you're her pet, her friend, her comfort, her confidant. Sakura doesn't care about your past. All she cares about is that you are here with her now. You have a family, right there in front of you." Kana smiled gently in the direction of the golden haired girl as she beckoned her forward.

"Come on Suki, I mean Kana. Let's go home."

"Home," Kana whispered and, with a bark, she bolted over to the girl, leaping into her opened arms. Sakura giggled and hugged her back. Soon Tomoyo and Mei Lin had joined the embrace with Li scratching her behind the ears. She barked and wagged her tail as she bowled Sakura over, licking her face.

"One day, Kana my dear, you will meet someone. You will refuse to let yourself grow close, at first, but soon you will be unable to resist the emotions that you were never allowed to experience. The one who will brake the spell will be the one you least expect. You will feel drawn to her for reasons beyond your comprehension. You will not be able to go on with your life until you find her."

Clow Reed's voice leaped unbidden into her mind. I guess he wasn't such an idiot after all, Kana thought as she challenged Sakura to a race home. 


End file.
